Finally getting around to installing the NTP full package on FREESCO 042. The install script aborts saying that it needs a timezone file. I used a file from an earlier modules.zip, modules 040, but the install didn't like it. (I'd put it in /mnt/bootdev/router/tmz/; file permissions were 777). Assuming it needed a file from modules 042 zip, I downloaded that from:

If you are having problems with the 043 modules then get the 043 tar.gz or the 043 zip version which includes the modules inside that file.Also permissions on the file when finished should be something like 644 and if you continue to have issues you might try a different file because usually there are two or three that will work for a timezone and more than one directory location to find them.

If you are afraid that you might make a mistake. The chances are high that you will never learn anything.

I must be doing something really silly, and I do apologise, but could somebody just point me in the right direction?

SOLVED!

The links on that page are not 'zips' at all. They are html pages which take you to a sourceforge download page. I was right-clicking and saving, but in fact they expect you just to click on the link. (We generally don't click on links like these (which show in the browser status bar as a 'zip' file) because we don't want to run the risk of any auto-execution. )

This is just after the script says checking if the package is installed ...Ok

In fact, I have installed a timezone file. It was FTPd to root's home from our main NFS filestore, and then copied (using mc on FREESCO) into /boot/tmz, following the guidance in the timezone folder of the 042 zip.

The script now also says:

rm: /boot/16406~: Device or resource busy

It says this twice.

I'll try restarting FREESCO, in case the timezone file needs to have been detected and in use in some sense.

and just 'hung', no prompt, no Ok, eventually breaking the SSH connection

Not sure what happened, there.

Tested using a Windows client on the LAN - which failed, reporting that the 'peer stratum' was lower than 'host stratum' which presumably meant that the Windows client had a higher stratum clock than FREESCO has now. (Of course, it's a basic Windows Vista machine, and has no type of stratum clock at all.)

The stratum servers that you use are set in the package. However if you want to use higher stratum servers you definitely can, it is just a matter of looking them up and setting them in the ntp configuration.

rc_ntpd setup

In order to get the server up to a stratum 2 server means that you need to update from at least one stratum 1 server. If you just use stratum 2 servers then your server will be a stratum 3 server. There are some stratum 1 servers available to get updates without paying a fee or having a login if you do a search for them and can find one that is not to far away to keep accuracy.

If you are afraid that you might make a mistake. The chances are high that you will never learn anything.

Island wrote:Maybe I'm still running the in-built time system that comes with the control panel. I'll see if I can disable it and still have the Admin Control Panel.

Yes, I was. I managed to disable the in-built ntp by entering '-' at the point in the server setup where it asks for the time server name/address. Rebooted again, and then the Vista machine did a time synch perfectly. Great! Really pleased with this.